By Kenneth Cross
West Virginia pushed a couple of solid wins last week as the Mountaineers posted a 76-61 win at Texas Tech while holding off No. 15 Auburn, 80-77, on Saturday in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
After starting at 11-2 and then falling in their first five Big 12 contests, WVU has improved immeasurably in many areas. The Mountaineers fostered proof in winning three out of their last four games, starting with a convincing 74-65 win over then-No. 14 TCU before a near miss vs. No. 7 Texas in Morgantown.
Currently, WVU has played the fourth-toughest schedule in the nation while pushing forward to No. 24 in the NET and No. 23 in BPI.
“We are getting better and better,” explained WVU head coach Bob Huggins. “We have guys in the portal, we have transfers, we have guys who have been there for a while, and you’re trying to put everybody together.”
In truth, the biggest challenge in college basketball could now be fitting players together season by season. Following the new opportunities is a must as Huggins and many of his colleagues now show every season.
In 41 seasons as a head coach, Huggins has put together a 929-407 mark and much of that has to do with his ability to change by the year.
Guard Erik Stevenson scored a career-high 31 points in Saturday’s win over the Tigers. As the Mountaineers’ current leading scorer and with booming confidence, he averages 13.9 ppg while shooting 37.8 percent from the three-point line and West Virginia averages 77.1 ppg (61st/CBB).
“He’s put in time,” noted Huggins. “He’s really worked at his mechanics.”
Three other Mountaineers average in double figures with forward Tre Mitchell (12.2 ppg), guards Kedrian Johnson (10.2) and Joe Toussaint (10.5 ppg) joining Stevenson. With four starters in that range and with a player such as Emmitt Mathews (9.4 ppg) in the mix, it can cause matchup issues for any defense.
Matthews, who has struggled with injuries this season, played his first three seasons at WVU, transferred to Washington for season four, and now is back in Morgantown in year five of college basketball and year four at West Virginia.
“It’s basketball and some days you play through it (injuries) better than other days,” explained Huggins. “Today was one of those days where Emmitt couldn’t play through it.”
Matthews was 2-of-8 from the field with six points in 31 minutes as he had struggled as well over the two prior games with six points and 2-of-9 shooting.
Matthews has had some tough injury situations this season as he missed a pair of games about a month ago with a knee injury.
“You have more pain than you would somewhere else,” noted Huggins. “He fought through it really well the first half, but the second half, we were so careless with the ball that I felt like we needed to have more ball handlers on the floor.”
Fish Fry
Another Hall of Famer in Charles Barkley (2006) sat courtside on Saturday afternoon, but he had come to Morgantown for Huggins’ fish fry which was on Friday afternoon. Barkley, of course, played at Auburn in the mid-1980s, but he and Huggins have a tremendous friendship that has spanned over time.
“Nike used to do what was a vacation deal which was for the really good NBA players and the top-level college coaches, in their (Nike’s) mind, so you get to know people pretty well,” said Huggins. “People don’t realize what a great person he is and he is fantastic.”
Huggins discussed the kindness that Barkley had shown when the West Virginia coach asked him to attend.
“He said, ‘What do you need me to do.’” recalled Huggins. “I have known Charles a long time we have played a lot of golf together. Hung out. We have played cards together. Nike and I asked him if he would do that and he said ‘Yeah, sure.’”
Good people, great cause.#HailWV | @hugginsfishfry pic.twitter.com/nJV6u87BD2
— WVU Men's Basketball (@WVUhoops) January 28, 2023
Post Play
West Virginia’s bigs have been working on playing at high levels. Jimmy Bell, Jr., became a factor on Saturday as he was the second-leading scorer with 15 points while going 5-of-7 from the floor and grabbing seven rebounds in 29 minutes.
He scored seven of his points in the second half as the Mountaineers took advantage of his inside scoring which was a factor in allowing Stevenson to be able to set up on the perimeter.
“I always thought Jimmy could score down low,” said Huggins. “It was other people who said he’s not going to be able to score for you. When you have shoulders like that and a body that wide, all you gotta do is be able to look at the rim and you will score some points.”